Dairy Goat production

The increasing human population is leading to increased land pressure. Consequently the smaller land sizes cannot support dairy cattle, making the dairy goat a better option. As a nation by promoting dairy goat’s production we will be addressing the millennium development goals of Alleviating extreme poverty and hunger. Goats are a good pathway out of poverty for smallholders. The high quality of goat’s milk addresses malnutrition at the household level.

Advantages of Rearing Dairy Goats

There are many advantages that can be realised from keeping the dairy goats. These include

Have a superior production capacity than a cow. A dairy cow is bigger in size and therefore requires more feeds, water, mineral salt and labour than the dairy goat

Can be reared in urban and peri-urban plots. This is because the faecal consistence (pellets) is easier to handle and dispose than the bulky cow dung of the dairy cattle

Requires relatively smaller space than a dairy cow

Dairy goats are much easier to convert to money than a cow

Dairy goats are less vulnerable to diseases especially tick borne diseases e.g. anaplasmosis, babesiosis and is not susceptible to ECF

Goats are fastidious feeders as a result they are the last animals to die from drought.

Goats consume a wide variety of grasses, weeds and small branches of bushes and trees. They also act as scavengers consuming discarded leaves peelings and roots of vegetables, husks of corn, citrus and banana peeling and other waste plant residues that would otherwise cause pollution

Other Products

Other products include. castrates, culls, breeding stock, and skins.

By-products

Include; Hooves , manure, bones, horns, blood

Opportunities

Availability of goat rearing space.

High demand for goat’s milk.

Availability of goat’s semen at CAIS.

High nutritional and medicinal value of goat’s milk.

Highly trained personnel are available.

Credit facilities available.

Cultural issues

In some communities goat’s milk is not acceptable. Though this is changing with time, there is need for concerted effort from all the stakeholder to promote consumption of goat’s milk.

Training

To support the development of goat enterprise training of farmers on Dairy goat husbandry is essential and dissemination of information on available opportunities